WE ARE BETTER THAN THATWould you kindly spread this to friends, enemies and everyone in between? I have just put up a new Facebook page called, “We Are Better Than That”, my latest effort to bury this awful, proposed asylum detention bill. Would you kindly ask folks to ‘Like’ the page and then share it with their friends? I have also directed and wrote a short spot [:90] with some well known Kiwis [Oscar Kightley, Dave Dobbin, etc.] that will be going up on YouTube next Monday, also called “We Are Better Than That”. When that goes live, I will also ask that you spread the word like crazy, if I may. If you are unfamiliar with the proposed law– for the first time, New Zealand is considering locking up boat arriving asylum seekers, similar to a disastrous detention policy they have had for years in Australia. The irony—in modern history, we have never had a boat arrival of asylum seekers. I am also speaking about the topic at the Devonport Library on Thursday, September 6th at 7:30pm if want to learn more. Gentle hecklers welcome. Even forwarding this email to friends would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help. This is the link to ‘Like’ for the Facebook page: Tracey.Barnett Website: www.traceybarnett.co.nz

PETITION: DIVEST NZ SUPERFUND FROM ISRAEL ARMED CATERPILLARCaterpillar makes an armored bulldozer for the Israeli military to use for demolishing Palestinians homes. In 2003 an Israeli soldier driving a Caterpillar D9 killed 23-year-old Rachel Corrie, who was acting as a “human shield” in front of a Gaza house with children still inside. An Israeli judge recently ruled that Rachel’s killing was her own fault. Church funds and pension funds around the world are divesting from Caterpillar for ethical reasons. We think NZ Superfund should also divest. Lois and Martin Griffiths in Christchurch have started an online petition which asks Parliament to request Superfund guardians to divest from Caterpillar. To sign the petition, click here

THE TIGERS OF WRATH(are wiser than the horses of instruction).
PEKING, 1974. Trish is ex-St Cuth’s, Pauline is ex-Onehunga High; they’re dykes and Maoists and members of the Auckland PYM. Oliver is from Wellington, writes for Salient and is a member of MiLO. All three are on an NZUSA trip to Red China. HERNE BAY, 1994. Trish is now Labour MP for New Lynn and Opposition spokesperson on education. Oliver has given up writing to become an immigration lawyer. MANGERE BRIDGE, 2009. Oliver’s being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. Pauline’s cleaning the South Auckland toilets of the BNZ. Trish is a TV current affairs host and the mother of the nation. THE TIGERS OF WRATH. A story of NZ from the recession of the mid-1970s to the crash of 2008-09. This is us. Circa Theatre, Wellington, Nov 3 – Dec 1. Cheap preview night Nov 2. Written by: Dean Parker. Directed by: Jane Waddell

GRANDPARENTS FOR MORE PAID PARENTAL LEAVEI am compiling a list of grandparents who support the bill to extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks. Go to 26forbabies.org for more information. The purpose is to: Involve grandparents in promoting the campaign to extend paid parental leave. Organise one or two events for grandparents and grandchildren – one suggestion is a picnic in parliament grounds (and in other town centres). Encourage grandparents to put in a submission. If you are a grandparent and support the paid parental leave bill, can you please: Ask to be included on the mailing list. Send me the names and email addresses of other grandparents you think would be interested. Suggest other ways grandparents could promote the campaign. I look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks, Anne Goodman, Anne.goodman@psa.org.nz

CALL FOR JESSON PRIZE NOMINATIONSThe Bruce Jesson Foundation was established in 1999 to commemorate one of New Zealand’s greatest political journalists, the late Bruce Jesson, by promoting “vigorous political, social and economic investigation, debate, analysis and reporting in New Zealand”. To this end, the Foundation holds an Annual Lecture and awards two journalism prizes:
• The Senior Journalism Prize which is self-nominated by the journalists themselves and involves an emolument of up to NZ$4,000 to assist them to produce the kind of critical and analytical journalism exemplified by Jesson’s work.
• The Emerging Journalism Prize which has a fixed emolument of $1,000 and is designed to recognise “outstanding recent work by New Zealand print journalism students.” It is nominated by the heads of New Zealand journalism schools or journalism programme leaders for published work by student journalists.
Nominations for the 2012 Bruce Jesson Journalism Prizes are hereby sought both from self-nominating senior journalists and the Heads of New Zealand journalism schools respectively. Nominees’ work will be assessed by members of the Foundation’s Journalism Subcommittee: Camille Guy (convener), Joe Atkinson, Simon Collins, Jon Stephenson, and Geoff Kemp.
Nominations together with copies of nominated work (preferably in electronic form) can be entered electronically on the Foundation website or mailed to Dr Anita Lacey, Secretary of the Bruce Jesson Foundation, C/- Political Studies Department, University of Auckland, PB 92019, AUCKLAND. The DEADLINE for receipt of nominations is extended to Friday, September 14, 2012.

ECONOMIST PROF STEVE KEEN WILL VISIT NEW ZEALAND 6-10 SEPTEMBERProfessor Steve Keen, author of Debunking Economics, and recently heard on Radio NZ National with Kim Hill, is visiting New Zealand in September to present 3 seminars. He is Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Western Sydney. A long-time critic of conventional economic theory, Professor Keen includes all relevant real world data in his economic modelling and so was able to give fore-warning of the current global financial crisis. In each seminar he will examine conventional economic theory and the alternatives, the failures of monetary economics, why the current economic situation cannot be solved with current methods. He will provide a comprehensive overview of Hyman Minsky’s Financial Instability Hypothesis. He will discuss the subjects listed below and there will also be an analysis of issues in New Zealand (housing markets, high debt levels, ownership of assets) that affect our nation’s economic well-being. Auckland seminar dates: Friday 7th and Saturday 8th September.Wellington seminar date: Monday 10th September. Further details at www.talks.co.nz

THE ROGER AWARDThe Roger Award For The Worst Transnational Corporation operating in New Zealand has run annually since 1997. There are no prizes for guessing whom it is named after. It is organised by CAFCA and GATT Watchdog, both Christchurch-based groups. The judges have awarded prizes for runners up, continuity and collaborators. The Award has attracted considerable interest since its inception (even from the corporate media), and has had a succession of distinguished and completely voluntary judges. The events to announce the winners have become highly memorable in their own right. Winners of previous awards and judges’ reports can be seen below. New Nominations are open for the 2012 Award. The nomination form with details of the criteria and how to make a nomination is available in Word or PDF format. Criteria are also below. Nominations close on 31 October 2012. The judges for 2012 are: Christina Stringer, a Senior Lecturer in International Business at the University of Auckland; John Maynard , from Wellington, President of the Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa, spokesperson for People’s Power Ohariu and founding member of the Brass Razoo Solidarity Band; Paul Maunder, cultural worker, curator of Blackball Museum of Working Class History and a founding member of Unite!; Sam Mahon, an artist, author and activist from North Canterbury; and Wayne Hope, Associate Professor, Communications Studies, Auckland University of Technology. They will be given a shortlist of finalists. The winner(s) will be announced at a Wellington event in early 2013. For more information http://canterbury.cyberplace.co.nz/community/CAFCA/publications/Roger/index.html

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom, we too, should have rights” Dr Seuss.

“The top 1 percent in our nation now possesses more net worth than the bottom 90 percent combined. In 2008, the 400 highest-income taxpayers earned as much as the combined tax revenue of 22 state governments with almost 42 million citizens. It’s way past time to reset our moral and economic compass.” Marian Wright Edelman, president, Children’s Defense Fund, Time to End ‘Reverse Robin Hood’ Tax Policies, August 16, 2012

In 2011, 57 U.S. CEOs saved more than $1 million each on their personal tax bills, thanks to the 2001 and 2003 Bush-era federal income tax cuts.

For America’s middle class, the Pew Research Center reported last week, the 21st century’s first decade made history: For the first time since the Great Depression, middle class Americans have ended a decade poorer than they began it.

Speaking of ACC A while ago I OIA’d ACC for historical data on how many of their weekly compensation claimants transferred onto welfare. They got back to me last week. Here’s what happened when National came to power in late 2008. They moved thousands of people onto the sickness benefit while railing about the runaway cost of the sickness benefit. http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/speaking-of-acc/